Woodbury teacher Jennifer Lambert has run the OC Half Marathon the past two years, but this year is battling breast cancer. This year, she is coaching the Mustang Milers, a group of nearly 300 Woodbury students who are taking part in the Kids Run the OC program. Lambert has been undergoing chemo and radiation treatments and says "The program has been great for me because the exercise and energy from the students made me feel so good and helped me stay strong.”

Two Irvine women will again be among the throngs in the OC Marathon this weekend, which runs through Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Irvine and Santa Ana.

Jennifer Lambert, who is battling breast cancer, won’t be running this year as she has the past two years in the half marathon. Instead, the Woodbury Elementary teacher is coaching the Mustang Milers, nearly 300 Woodbury students who are taking part in the Kids Run the OC program.

Lambert said coaching the students the past 13 weeks “has been great for me because the exercise and energy from the students made me feel so good and helped me stay strong,” while she had endured chemo and radiation treatments.

“Both treatments do take a lot of my energy, but fortunately, I did not get too sick from either one and was able to work through,” Lambert said. “Going to work each day and spending time with the kids truly got me through it. Their energy and support is amazing. This year has been quite an adventure and they’ve been with me the entire way.”

More than 18,000 runners will participate in the eighth annual OC Marathon races with the marathon starting at 5:30 a.m. and half marathon at 6:15 a.m. Sunday on the Newport Center Drive loop. The OC Wahoo’s 5K is Sunday at the OC Fairgrounds, and The Kids Run the OC 1-mile race is Saturday at the Fairgrounds. The OC Marathon hopes to raise $250,000 this year and has raised $3 million which goes to 21 charities.

At Saturday’s Kids Run the OC event, Lambert will watch the students of the Mustang Milers run their final mile that will make up their last of 26.2 miles – the length of a marathon – that they have been working toward the past few weeks. She will also work the Mile 5 water station for the Sunday marathon along with students and parents of the Mustang Milers.

Lambert, a former actress who had recurring roles on shows such as “The Young and the Restless,” “General Hospital,” and “Days of Our Lives,” teaches second- and third-graders at the Irvine school.

Another Irvine woman, Kristin Scheithauer, will run the Wahoo’s 5K Run with her two daughters, Jenna, 9, and Julia, 7.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Scheithauer said. “I did it last year with my two daughters. They’re huge soccer players and love to run. It’s fun to have something to do with my family.”

Scheithauer is the president of the Junior League of Orange County, California, Inc., a charity partner of the OC Marathon, and it has members running and volunteering in the marathon.

The Junior League, which is a group of women that strives to improve the community through volunteering, has already raised nearly $1,000. The group’s goal is to raise $6,000 to continue working with its partners which include Second Harvest Food Bank and the Children’s Hospital of Orange County among other organizations.

This is the Junior League’s second year in the marathon, and this year the group has organized a team of 40 runners and 45 volunteers to assist with the Mile 6 water station.

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